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The Amanda Project

  • Is it age appropriate?

    About our ratings

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    Not age appropriate for kids under 10, age appropriate for kids over 13; suggested age 13.

  • Is it any good?

    3.0

  • Common Sense says

    Bookworms flex creative writing muscle at interactive site.

On this site kids can:   buy stuff, create and share content, post comments, post content, read stories

Why We Rated This on for Ages 13 and Up

The good stuff

  • Educational value:

    Terrific writing by the site's fictional hosts, three left-behind classmates of the missing Amanda, should inspire kids to try their own hand at amusing mystery.  Sample: "You’re hiding something under your hat and it's not just a bad hair day."

  • Messages:

    The site promotes creativity and imaginative, collaborative thinking as kids puzzle out clues and suggest their own plot twists and turns.

  • User-created content:

    User-generated content so far consists mainly of plot twists kids suggest in response to the site's various storylines. (For instance: who do they think used the school's PA system to rat out a classmate caught practicing how to kiss with a health class CPR dummy?)  There are a few stabs at creative writing in the Endeavor High Zine, an area of the site where girls are urged to submit their own short stories and artwork, but not much else.

What to watch out for

  • Violence:

    Not an issue.

  • Sex:

    Not an issue.

  • Language:

    Not an issue.

  • Consumerism:

    No ads, but the site does have an online store that sells Amanda-themed buttons, bookbags, T shirts and other clothes and accessories, including the first book tie-in, Invisible i. 

  • Drinking, drugs, & smoking:

    Not an issue.

How safe is it?

  • Personal privacy:

    Fairly vigilant, the site requires parental consent for kids younger than 13 and warns girls not to share or request personal information in their posts. ("You know better than that.")  The site's registration and profile questions are less invasive than most, leaning more toward funny or creative fictional information than personal data. (For instance, kids can identify themselves as a boy, girl, or human.) One privacy downside: kids can't edit or remove their own posts once submitted.

  • Online interaction:

    Interactions are limited to comments and message board posts, which all seem to be polite, friendly, and collaborative as kids offer suggestions for advancing the story. The site uses both technical filters and humans to patrol content, and warns girls upfront not to be vulgar or "hating" on pain of expulsion. If someone does misbehave, the site provides both an email address and an online form to report it.

  • Parental controls:

    Except for email permission required for girls 12 or younger, there are no parental controls.

What Parents Need to Know

This review of The Amanda Project was written by Carla Thornton

Parents need to know that this collaborative writing site invites girls 13 and older to help tell the fictional story of Amanda Valentino, a strange teen who mysteriously disappears from the halls of Endeavor High School after only a few months of attendance. Developed by the same creative minds behind The 39 Clues, The Amanda Project is a little dark and a little disjointed.  It's also clearly a marketing tool for an upcoming "Amanda" book series being planned by Harper Collins (the first book is due out in September). But the writing is clever and the site is a safe and friendly place for kids to practice their mystery writing skills -- and possibly see their contributions used in a real  book.

Families Can Talk About

Talk to your kids about the media in their life. We have more tools and tips that can help
  • Discuss the purpose of The Amanda Project. Can kids participate without wanting to buy the related book or something else from the online store?
  • What makes a good mystery? Make a list of kids' mystery books by female authors that girls can check out from the library.
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More on The Amanda Project

Is It Any Good?

Despite a somewhat confusing execution, The Amanda Project is a worthwhile creative writing destination for both girls and boys. This new breed of social media site is supposed to be designed and written as if by characters in a book, who invite users to enter their world and help solve a mystery with the ultimate goal of using the community's ideas to shape a published novel. Pretty neat, if you can overlook the commercial aspect. The problem is a lot of this isn't  made terribly clear. For instance, though there are hints in that direction, nowhere does the site ask kids to create characters for themselves. Clues and storylines are thrown out for comment without benefit of a timeline. Kids could use a tad more info on the main character beyond the fact she "completely and utterly changed everything" before disappearing. What saves The Amanda Project is the top-drawer writing, found everywhere from the sample chapters to the hilarious fictional profiles.
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